SOCHI (Russia), Aug 18: Russian President Vladimir Putin called on Thursday for an international conference on Iraq by year’s end and a timetable for withdrawal of foreign troops from the country, saying they were considered ‘occupying forces’ by many Iraqis.

“We deem it necessary to work out a schedule for the staged withdrawal of foreign troops” in Iraq, Putin told reporters following talks with Jordan’s King Abdullah II in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

“Many Iraqis perceive these forces as occupying forces, and this is a reality that should be taken into account,” the Russian leader said.

Putin also called for an international conference by the end of this year in order ‘to intensify the role of the international community in the process in Iraq’.

Russia has a long history of close ties with Iraq and was among the leading critics of the US-led war that ousted Saddam Hussein. Putin has called before for an international conference on the Middle East.

The call, made on a visit to Egypt this spring, was warmly welcomed by the Palestinian leadership but got no traction as the White House and Israel immediately poured cold water on it.

On Thursday Putin took the opportunity of King Abdullah’s visit to try to boost Russia’s credentials in the Middle East as a member of the international quartet sponsoring the Middle East peace process.

He emphasized that Russia itself has a large indigenous Islamic population and stressed that Islam should not be identified with terrorism.

“It is inadmissible to allow for any identification of the great global religion of Islam with terrorism,” the Russian president said, adding: “I want to note that 16 million Muslims in Russia are not immigrants. This is their homeland, and they are part of the Islamic world.”

Concerning the withdrawal of Israeli settlers from the Gaza strip that began this week, Putin praised Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

“Prime Minister Sharon is demonstrating personal courage and consistency in implementing the decision taken,” he said.

“We see how painful it is for Israeli society. At the same time it’s just part of the road map... We’ll try to achieve full implementation of the plan.”

Thursday’s talks at the Russian leader’s seafront holiday residence on the Black Sea reflected a campaign by Jordan to maintain international attention to the Middle East peace process beyond the withdrawal of Israeli settlers from Gaza.

Abdullah said Moscow had an important role to play in effort to stabilize the Middle East.

“We look to Russia as a co-sponsor of the peace process and as a member of the Middle East quartet to work alongside the US and the EU to provide leadership in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process,” Abdullah said.

“We need this to be one phase in an ongoing process, not a last step,” he said, referring to the withdrawal of the Israeli settlements from Gaza.—AFP